National Infant Immunization Week prompts Baystate pediatrician to remind parents about vaccinations for newborns, older children

Failure to vaccinate means "the more at risk our children become for acquiring serious, vaccine-preventable diseases."

Dr. John Synder is a pediatrician at High Street Health Center Pediatrics at Baystate Children's Hospital.Submitted

Dr. John Synder, pediatrician at High Street Health Center Pediatrics at Baystate Children's Hospital, noted childhood vaccinations are one of the best ways for parents to protect their children against vaccine-preventable diseases. This message is currently highlighted during National Infant Immunization Week.

The government's Centers for Disease Control lists five important reasons to vaccinate your child:

- Immunizations can save your child's life: Some diseases that once injured or killed thousands of children in the United States, such as polio, have been eliminated completely and others are close to extinction, due to vaccines.

- Vaccination is safe and effective: Vaccines are only given to children after a long and careful review by scientists, doctors, and health-care professionals.

- Immunization protects others you care about: Getting immunized not only protects your family, but also helps prevent the spread of diseases to your friends and loved ones, some of whom may not have been able to be vaccinated due to severe allergies or a weakened immune system.

- Immunizations can save your family time and money: A child with a vaccine-preventable disease can be denied attendance at schools or day-care facilities. Some vaccine-preventable diseases can result in prolonged disability and can take a financial toll because of lost time at work, medical bills or long-term disability care.

- Immunization protects future generations: If we continue to vaccinate now, and vaccinate completely, parents in the future may be able to trust that some diseases of today will no longer be around to harm their children.

As for the pain children may feel from the pinch of a needle, Snyder said it "probably hurts parents more to see their child getting a shot."

"I don't want to minimize the stress and pain some children feel when it comes time for them to be vaccinated, but that is nothing compared to how sick they will feel when they contract a potentially life-threatening vaccine-preventable disease," Snyder said.

"Also, we can now ease the pain, and the stress a parent often feels, by cooling or numbing the area of the arm or leg where the shot is to be given," he added.

While serious side effects, such as an allergic reaction, are rare after immunization, it is not uncommon for children to experience some discomfort afterwards, noted the Baystate pediatrician.

"Parents can expect their child may have some redness or tenderness at the site where we have given the injection, and they may experience a low-grade fever," Snyder said in a release.

If vaccines have been so successful in preventing disease today, why do kids still need to be vaccinated?

Snyder noted that infants are particularly vulnerable to infectious diseases, and that is why it is critical to protect them through immunization. Each day, nearly 12,000 babies are born in the United States who will need to be immunized against 14 vaccine-preventable diseases over six visits before age 2.

"Despite our best efforts, vaccine-preventable diseases still circulate in our country and around the world," said Snyder, who cited last year's multiple outbreaks of pertussis, better known as whooping cough, around the country.

Even when diseases are rare in the United States, they can be brought into the country, putting unvaccinated children at risk. Today, there are cases of whooping cough in every state, and the country will likely have the most reported cases since 1959.

In 2012, more than 41,000 cases of whooping cough were reported across the United States, including 18 deaths. The majority of these deaths were among infants younger than 3 months of age.

"While we can be proud of the figure that in the United States fewer than one percent of our children go completely unvaccinated, there is an alarming trend of under-vaccination, particularly in certain communities where vaccine myths are more commonly believed," Snyder said.

He was referring to what he called the perpetuation of the "vaccine-autism connection."

"I still hear some parents voice their concern over an alleged causal link between the measles, mumps and rubella vaccine (MMR) and autism - all because of a single, now thoroughly discredited paper published over 10 years ago which received an inordinate amount of coverage by the media," Synder said.

He added failure to vaccinate means "the more at risk our children become for acquiring serious, vaccine-preventable diseases."

"Deadly childhood diseases that were once common, but that are now nearly unheard of by most parents because of the successfulness of vaccination, are now beginning to creep back into existence due to unfounded parental fears.So, continued vaccination is needed to protect not only our children, but adults, as well, from life-threatening outbreaks," Snyder said.

While fully vaccinating your child is critical for keeping these dreaded diseases at bay, it isn't always sufficient, noted the pediatrician. He said many diseases like pertussis are most dangerous when acquired in early infancy, when babies are too young to be fully protected by the vaccine.

"In this case, it is the mother who is the crucial link to protecting the vulnerable infant from infection," Snyder said.

It is now recommended that all women receive the Tdap vaccine, which protects against pertussis, between the 27th and 36th week of pregnancy. Immunity from this vaccination can be passed on to the fetus and protect the infant after birth.

It is also recommended that all persons who will have close contact with the newborn receive the Tdap vaccine before the baby is born to prevent spread of this potentially lethal infection to the vulnerable newborn.

Parents should follow the immunization schedule provided by the American Academy of Pediatrics, which is designed by experts to ensure maximum protection and safety for infants and children at various ages. The schedule can be found online at the American Academy of Pediatrics website: www.aap.org/immunization

"Immunization is a shared responsibility. Families, health care providers, and public health officials must work together to help protect the entire community," Snyder said.
For additional information on child health, visit www. baystatehealth.org/bch